Team

David Gershik has been a leader in promoting business opportunities in Latin America for more than fifteen years. In nearly a quarter century in the video game business, David established brands like Grand Theft Auto, Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead, Bethesda’s Wolfenstein and many others into North and South American markets. After starting his career with LucasArts, he moved on to assist the startup Gathering of Developers before their acquisition by Take 2 Interactive. During his 12 years at Take 2, David managed the sales of more than $4 billion dollars in console and PC games including some of the most successful video game franchises of all time as the company expanded from $36 million in revenue in the Americas to more than $700 million. David also extended Take 2’s North American business by doubling their business in Canada and extending their sales presence into Latin America. Despite challenging economic headwinds, David left Take 2 in 2011 to start up 1080partners to help businesses extend their brands into Latin America.

Carlos Berumen began his career in games in 2002 as VP of Sales at Gamexpress, Mexico’s largest distributor. In 2003, Carlos opened 35 new specialty retail stores across Mexico- becoming one of the largest specialty gaming retailers in Latin America. A few years later, he led the company’s expansion outside of Mexico into Chile and Brazil. In 2010, Carlos recorded record distribution sales and profit on $140 million in revenue. Carlos started up operations in Miami, Colombia and Panama in 2012 to expand Gamexpress’ sales into Latin America- adding revenue of $25 million after just one year. Having attended Mexico’s prestigious PanAmerican Institute for High Business Direction, Carlos comes to 1080partners with the experience and relationships to make an immediate impact on your business in Latin America. Carlos will be managing digital and mobile sales and marketing, as well as leading efforts to improve the sales of our accessories and consumer electronics lines outside of Brazil and Mexico.

Paola Blanco has 16 years of experience in operations, customer care and in end-to-end supply chain procedures. Her areas of expertise and strengths include resource planning & fulfillment and order management. Before joining 1080partners, Paola worked for a decade in Telco and IT Industries, including Nortel, Alcatel-Lucent and Televisa.Previously, Paola worked with publishers such as Take 2, Square , Activision, THQ and LucasArts managing their operations, sales administration and various marketing projects. Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English, Paola efficiently manages 1080partners’ business in Mexico.

Alejandro McKelligan has more than 10 years experience in Latin America sales in the consumer electronics, entertainment, and videogame industries. He started in videogame distribution in 2011 as a key account manager for Gamexpress, Mexico’s largest distributor and has worked as sales manager for companies such as Garmin and Mattel. Currently, Alex is also involved as a partner in a Virtual Reality startup, with knowledge of the latest trends and technologies in entertainment and media. Alejandro is managing the digital sales channels in Mexico and international distribution in ROLA.

Ernesto comes to 1080partners from Gamers, one of the largest specialty video game stores in Latin America, where he supervised commercial strategies. During his tenure, Ernesto achieved growth of more than 50% while developing new product lines in stores and optimizing the company’s working capital. Before starting at Gamers, Ernesto was the purchasing manager for Gamexpress, which, at the time, was the largest video game and accessory distributor in Latin America. Prior to his work in the video game industry, Ernesto worked for Nestlé in supply chain management and marketing, and before that, he was in the purchasing department of a regional retailer in categories such as home décor and seasonal, and also negotiated directly with Asian suppliers. Ernesto is working in the Mexico City office and will be handling all purchasing, reporting and analysis.

Rafael Velame has more than 10 years of experience growing brands in the video game and accessory business in Brazil and throughout Latin America. Rafael began his career at NC Games, the largest distributor of video games in Brazil, successfully negotiating the ins and outs of the importation process and the complicated taxes around it. Once local replication became established, Rafael transitioned to working in the commercial department at NC Games, managing sales, marketing, production, and distribution for several of the largest publishers in the industry. In addition to his responsibilities at NC Games, Rafael also managed the purchase of products for UZ Games, the largest specialty game retailer in Brazil. Rafael manages 1080partners portfolio in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.

Jesús Marmolejo started his career 10 years ago with a focus on international logistics. He has managed and set processes for deliveries from suppliers to retailers such as Liverpool, Soriana, Amazon, and Walmart, among many others. Jesus has worked with SofaMatch, Alameda and Gaia Design, three of the top furniture retailers in the Mexican market. Jesus is also an expert in supply chain management, from procurement to customer service and has a focus on reducing costs and risks to deliver orders to the final client swiftly and efficiently. Jesus manages supply chain and customer service out of the Mexico City Office for all 1080partners clients and customers.